It's often been said that if people would look beyond their
differences, they'd find they have much more in common than they
think. Learning about other belief systems doesn't mean you have
to take on any part of those beliefs or practices. But understanding
why others feel they way they do about certain issues and topics
can go a long way to understanding each other. In other words,
if you can learn about your neighbor and what they belief, then
you can find a common ground for communication and understanding.

On this page, I'd like to try and show from my perspective,
research and experiences, the similarities of varying belief
systems. We all practice the same things, we use different names
to label our rituals and ceremonies, but we're a lot more alike
than some realize or are willing to admit.

Since initially posting this article, I have received over
time emails that point out one or another fallacy about some
of the comments stated here about certain religions. While it
is easy to point out the negatives about any religion, it does
me no service to do so. ALL religions, be they pagan or mainstream
have their extremists, zealots and terrorists through out the
centuries. Atrocities that have been committed in the name of
a particular God or religion are not subject to just one spiritual
path; but all.

In an effort to show our commonalities, I have left out these
negative events of history. Even if those events are new and
the scars are not yet healed. Instead I try to approach each
belief system with an oneness and hope that we can all learn
tolerance and respect, end the arguments and bloodshed, and find
peace amongst ourselves for a new hopeful and positive future.

Pagan Metaphysics / Witchcraft

Sects

There are many traditions/sects within the religion of Pagan
Metaphysics. Often gathering in the form of a Clan or Coven.

There are many labels and titles for the neo-pagan religion.
Some call it Witchcraft, some refer to it as the Craft or just
Paganism. A new modern label is emerging today to refer to a
more holistic view of the beliefs - Pagan Metaphysics.

There is no "bible" type spiritual text for Pagan
Metaphysics. Many covens or clans have their own written or oral
history known as a Book Of Shadows or a Grimoire.

Worship through holidays known as Sabbats which typically
fall upon the 8 seasonal changes of the year, working days known
as Esbats, with ritual & ceremony. Rituals are held indoors
and outdoors, often in a circle. Where ever you can build a circle,
you have a ritual space.

It's important to note that not all who follow a Pagan Metaphysical
path are Polytheistic. Some denominations see the Divine as a
single all inclusive source which is often referred to as the
Universal Spirit, the Divine Spirit, the GreatSpirits and a variety
of other titles including God or Goddess. Basically, Witchcraft/Shamanism
is a religion of respect and honor. Recognizing and believing
that all things, seen and unseen throughout the divine universe
are interconnected. My tradition follows this path. Where some
traditions see the Divine as a tree who's branches are represented
by different Gods and Goddesses, we see the Divine as the entire
Tree. Why work with just an aspect of the branches, when you
can work with the entire Tree.

neo-Pagans hold a belief in reincarnation and what is commonly
known as karma. Magikal rituals are used as a means of honoring
the God/Goddess and the nature of the universe. neo-Pagans believe
there are lessons set upon our path to help teach us about ourselves
and to overcome the karma we've created in a past life or an
earlier time in this life. Through that understanding we grow
in enlightenment and wisdom.

Misconceptions: The biggest misconception about neo-pagans is
that they worship the devil. This is the farthest thing from
the truth. Pagans do not believe in the existence of Satan, so
it would be hard to worship that kind of deity in the first place.
Another misconception is that Pagans don't believe in sin. Well,
from the Christian way of thinking, we don't. But we do believe
in karma. What you put out you will get back; good, bad or indifferent.
We call it the Law of Accountability. You are responsible for
your thoughts and actions, and must take the consequences those
actions create. Rituals do not consist of sacrifices of any kind.
A sacrifice would be considered a dishonor of life for self gratification.
That kind of disrespect is an affront to Pagan Metaphysical belief.

Metaphysical

Sects

New Age, Metaphysical

Prayer

Meditate, light candles & incense, sing, chant

Spiritual Teachers

No title, though there are Metaphysical Ministers throughout
the world.

General Practices

No formal holidays, rituals or ceremonies. Many Metaphysicians
celebrate various religious holidays from Christmas to Ramadan.
Practices are held in a chapel or spiritual 'center'.

There is no spiritual 'bible' written text. Metaphysics is
the science beyond physics and therefore all research and resources
are valid.

Believe in a universal divine force which encompasses all things
of which they are part. You alone are not God, but you, I and
all things around us make up God. Metaphysicians hold a belief
in reincarnation and what is commonly known as karma. They believe
there are lessons set upon our path to help teach us about ourselves
and to overcome the karma we've created in a past life or an
earlier time in this life. Through that understanding we grow
in enlightenment and wisdom.

Misconceptions: Believers are Godless, they have no belief in
a supreme being at all. As defined in a Christian or Jewish faith,
this would be an accurate statement. Metaphysicians and New Age
practioners believe that "God", often referred to as
'The Divine' is not above or separate from ourselves, but rather
the result of all things combined as one. Another misunderstanding
is that New Agers are flighty and always searching, never finding.
Metaphysical practioners and New Age are very introspective,
always looking to improve oneself through the lessons of life.
They don't believe in sin. Well, from the Christian way of thinking,
no they don't. But like the Pagan, what you put out you will
get back; good, bad or indifferent.

Christian

Sects

Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, etc.

And yes The Catholic denomination is part of Christianity

Prayer

Pray, light candles & incense, sing, meditate

Spiritual Teachers

Priests, Nuns, Ministers, Bishops, Cardinals, The Pope, Deacons

General Practices

Worship through organized services, rituals & ceremonies.
Recognize several holidays relating to events in their religions
history. Or Adopted from other beliefs as a means for easy conversation
to Christianity. Worship is held in a church or chapel for prayer,
ritual and worship.

Recognize the Holy Bible as their written history and spiritual
text. This book is found in many forms, many interpretations
and has a rich history of how it has evolved to today's common
versions.

Believe in a supreme being which created and encompasses all
things, known as the one God, Jehovah or Yahweh. God sent his
only son, Jesus, to earth to teach the ways of God and become
the savior of mankind through crucifixion and resurrection. Through
the acceptance of Christ into your life, and being baptized,
you are guaranteed a place in Heaven.

Misconceptions: I struggled on this one, so I asked a friend
of mine who is a devout Catholic what she thought the misconceptions
of Christianity are. Here's what she said. The main misunderstanding
is that Christians are closed minded. That might be true with
some believers, but I think you can say the same for all faiths.
There are always extremists in every group. The second misconception
is every Christian's mission is to convert the world to Christianity.
Again, that might be the way of some extremists, but not the
majority of Christians. She did strongly suggest that all Christians
study any pre-King James version of the bible in order to understand
many of the original ideals within the religion.

Jewish

Sects

Orthodox, Hebrew, Modern, etc

Prayer

Pray, light candles & incense, sing, chant

Spiritual Teachers

Rabbi

General Practices

Worship through organized services, rituals & ceremonies.
Recognize several holidays relating to events in their religions
history. Worship is held in a synagogue for prayer, ritual and
worship. In the Kabalaistic Calendar, there are 4 spiritual holidays
that follow the seasonal changes of the year.

Recognize the Tora as their written history and spiritual
text. Along with the Kabbalah (or Cabala), which is often called
the book of Jewish Mysticism.

Believe in a supreme being which created and encompasses all
things. This means that there exists a Being that is complete
in all ways and He is the cause of all else that exists. He is
what sustains their existence and the existence of all that sustains
them.

The word torah means "a teaching". The Torah is
HaShems teaching to the Jewish people. In the Torah HaShem
tells us how to live. The Torah has many mitzvos (commandments)
in it. They are HaShems instructions to us. The Torah also
contains stories. These stories are true and teach us about our
history and our relationship with HaShem.

The daily prayers follow a basic pattern with some variations
on Shabbos, Yomim Tovim (holidays) and other special days.

Consider this as well, like the Celts and Native Peoples,
The Hebrew community is well known for it's many tribes of Israel.
Although male and female are not worshiped, they are honored
as two opposing forces, often seen through the story of Adam
and Hava (Adam and Eve). The Kabala itself has a tone of "spells"
within it, as the Hebrew/Jewish book of mysticism, it has many
magikal undertones. Many Cabalists also keep a spiritual journal,
much like a Witches Grimoire. They often name the journal after
a holy man. One can even be found on the net called Romach Pinchas
www.rachlin.org.il
in Hebrew. Another similarity with pagans, one of the most important
holidays to Paganism is Samhain. The Hebrew have a similar word
Samehin, meaning 'To be happy'.

Misconceptions: One of the interesting misconceptions is that
Jews do not believe in Jesus. They do, but they view him as a
prophet, not the Savior foretold. Another misconception is that
Jews worship money. Again, untrue. Jews intertwine their entire
life with their spiritual beliefs. Thus their work is a means
of worship and honor. To care for yourself, your family and your
home is showing respect for the gifts given to you by God.

Prayer is performed 5 times a day. There is a specific ritual
used for these prayers. They include specific words and movements.

Spiritual Teachers

An Emam (the equivalent of a priest). An Emam can be a woman
or a man.

General Practices

Worship through ritual & ceremonies. There are only 2 major
holidays. Ramadan and Ede which is after Ramadan. Ramadan is
the time of spiritual cleansing, Ede is a celebration of the
new spiritual life to come for the year. Worship is often held
in a mosque and led by an Emam.

Believe in a supreme being which created and encompasses all
things, known as the one and only God. He was not created, he
is the mighty, merciful and compassionate God. They believe in
Jesus as the prophet of God. David, Isaac, Joseph are also prophets.
Muslims believe that when Jesus was placed on the cross, God
reached down and removed him before the crucifixion. Replacing
Jesus with another man. God took Jesus and sat him by his side,
allowing him to live so that he might return again and proclaim
God's truth. To them Jesus is alive, he never died. He is merely
waiting by the hand of God to return. They do believe in Heaven,
Hell and the Devil as well.

Muslim's believe in magik, but the practice of magik is not
allowed. They believe that one who dabbles in magik is susceptible
to the influences of the Devil and therefore susceptible to the
corruptive powers of black magik. Good magik is practiced through
one's deeds in day to day life. They believe in psychic powers
as a gift from God, but not as something one can practice and
learn.

The biggest misconception of Muslims is that they are all
terrorists. This is totally untrue! Most Westerners know nothing
of the realities and beauties of Islam. Since the time of the
Crusades, propaganda has been circulated to convince the ignorant
that Islam is hard, warlike, narrow-minded, and either sensual
or puritanical--depending on which of these seemed more shocking
at the time! Islam as Muslims have always known it--the religion
of tolerance, harmony, wisdom, and above all, peace--remains
a stranger to those who have not lived it.

Islam means Peace, Muslim is Belief in Islam. So Muslim is
the Belief of Peace. Another misconception is that women are
2nd class citizens. Again, untrue. Women are seen as the primary
leaders of their culture. In fact, the Muslims were the first
culture to give women the right to vote 1400 years ago. Soon
after women were allowed to own their own land and not long after
that they were considered as an equal of man.

I would like to thank my friend Sam (a practitioner of Islam)
for helping me with this section of the Similarity posting. Without
his help, this would have remained a blank section for some time
to come.

There is no spiritual 'bible' written text. Most Native Peoples
have a very rich oral history that is still passed down through
generations today.

Believe in a universal divine force which encompasses all things.
Often called 'The Great Spirit'. Most (if not all) Native peoples
practice respect for all things as the corner stone for their
spiritual lives. In doing so, they are honoring the Great Spirit
and all things sacred in the world. Native peoples lived/live
in tribal communities and are often associated with a larger
'nation' of peoples. Many Native Americans believe in communicating
with all nature spirits, from plants to animals and more. When
death comes, many people believe an animal messenger will come
to guide their journey to the Great Spirit.

Misconceptions: There's not enough room here for the misconceptions
of Native Peoples. But if I were to select one, I'd share the
one so often told to me by wise brethren who live the life each
day. Natives are ignorant and simple minded. Well, hopefully
if you're reading this, you know how ignorant that statement
is. Native Americans are very intelligent and artistic people
who learned long ago how to live with the natural world around
them, without abusing it or taking from it and never giving back
to it.

Worship through rituals & ceremonies. Holidays are often
festivals that coincide with seasonal events. Ie: Harvest time.
They honor all things seen and unseen; and have great reverence
for the divine force of the world/universe. The believe in the
balance of all things, and strive to live in balance with the
natural world around them and spiritual world that runs through
them.

The Celts in general have an extremely rich oral history.
Little was ever written or inscribed on paper, stone or other
decorations. But their history is now stuff of legend and myth
and can be a fascinating journey of research.

Believe in a universal divine force which encompasses all things.
Often called God/Goddess. Practioners respect for all things
is the corner stone for their spiritual lives. In doing so, they
are honoring the Gods and all things sacred in the world. They
share similarities with Native American Peoples, so consider
a few of these: Both Celts and Native Peoples lived/live in a
clan community often associated with a larger geographical area
of peoples (ie: a common example.. The Clan McCloud were Highlanders;
The Seminoles were part of the Cherokee nation). You can see
more about this below.

Misconceptions: Most practioners consider themselves to be a
form of Pagan, therefore their misconceptions are identical or
at least very similar. That Celtic Shamanism is a modern creation.
For more about this, you might want to read the Celtic Shamanism article on this site.

Buddhist

Sects

Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana are the major sects

Prayer

Chant, meditate, light candles & incense, ring a bell or
gong

Spiritual Teachers

The Dalai Lama, Monk, Priest and Nuns.

General Practices

Worship through ceremonies, festivals, and prayers.

Buddhism is more a way of life and philosophy than a religion.
Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it explains apparent injustice
and inequality around the world, and it provides a code of practice
or way of life that leads to true happiness. Buddhists sometimes
pay respect to images of the Buddha, not in worship, nor to ask
for favors. They believe in karma and reincarnation in the form
of rebirth.

Misconceptions: That Buddhists worship Buddha as a God. They
are some how 'weak' or inferrer in some manner because of their
great respect for all life forms, for peace and non violence.

Hindu

Sects

Saivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism are the 4 major sects.

Prayer

Chant, meditate, light candles & incense, pray

Spiritual Teachers

Priests

General Practices

Worship through ceremonies, festivals and rituals

Also called Sanatana Dharma, "eternal religion,"
and Vaidika Dharma, "religion of the Vedas," Hinduism
encompasses a broad spectrum of philosophies ranging from pluralistic
theism to absolute monism. The 4 major sects share a vast heritage
of culture and belief: karma, dharma, reincarnation, all-pervasive
Divinity, temple worship, sacraments, manifold Deities, the many
yogas, the guru-nishya tradition and a reliance on the Vedas
as scriptural authority. They believe in God as the creator of
the universe, and worship idols as tangible representations of
God. As such they honor many different gods and goddesses. The
believe in karma and reincarnation in the form of transmigration.

Misconceptions: My research didn't help me much in this area.
I'm hoping that's a good thing.

A Personal Note:

I've indicated many times that my heritage is Celtic and
Cherokee. My 5th Grt.Grand Father, Julis C. Dugger was one half
of a Trader partnership between European settlers and native
peoples. More commonly called 'Indian Traders'. Julis and his
partner have been recorded as the first white settlers on what
is now the Virginia/Tennessee border. It is this regional area
that brings us to the mixing of cultures. As other Europeans
arrived in America and traveled into the mountains, the Trading
settlements grew. But like many small villages of the 1750-1760's,
outsiders were not very welcome. Often times, these settlements
attracted and often invited others of their 'kind' to stay and
build within the community. Anyone outside 'kinship' was often
shunned, unwelcomed or bluntly asked to leave. Predominantly,
eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia and the northwestern
section of North Carolina were settled by Celts. Well, settled
isn't exactly the correct word. The Cherokee were in these areas
long before the Europeans arrived at Plymouth Rock.

At this time in our sad history of America, there were many
European cultures who automatically turned at odds with the Native
Peoples of the region. But many Celts welcomed their native neighbors
and shared similar understandings of love, nature and life. Take
a look at the many common beliefs and practices between these
two cultures in the table below and you might understand why
their unique union often occurred. And why so many of us who
have Celtic lineages also have Cherokee ancestors.

This practice isn't reserved for Celts and Cherokees however.
I think just about everyone in America can find similar intercultural
relationships. If you take the time to compare the two cultures
you're from you might find that they are more similar than you
think. Here's an example of what you can look for and how you
can find the similarities between peoples:

Celtic

Cherokee

Live in clans

Spiritual leader is often a Shaman or Shamanka

Widely used herbs and other plants in medicines. More so
than many other Europeans.

Believe in nature spirits, in trees and animals, as well
as, unseen protectors such as fairies and elves, etc.

When you die, the Banshee come to take your soul out of it's
earthly embodiment.

Many Celts practice varying forms of paganism. Karma and
reincarnation are the cornerstones of these beliefs.

When you needed guidance in your life you took a spiritual
journey. Either performed by the Shaman, or guided by the Shaman.

Hold a strong belief in magik.

Believe "the little people" help to trick or to
guide your journeys. Along with Forest Sprites and other woodland
spirits.

Live in tribal villages

Spiritual leader is often a Medicine Man or Medicine Woman

Widely used herbs and other plants in medicine and spiritual
rituals.

Believe all of natures creations contain spiritual souls
or a spiritual essence and are part of the 'Great Spirit'.

When you die, the Great Spirit sends a messenger to guide
your spirit from it's earthly embodiment. Often an animal.

The Cherokee believe in a form of reincarnation and karma.
Although aspects differ slightly, the concept is the same as
the Celts.

When you needed guidance in your life you took a spiritual
journey. Either performed by or guided by the tribal Medicine
Man or woman.

Believe in a form of magik. Ask a Medicine woman about shape-shifting
and you might hear.."It's just magik".

Believe the Great Spirit can guide your journey through animals.

From the earliest of settlers, inter-cultural marriages began.
I'm sure some of them were made out of trade bargains, but many
were from mutual interests of love and attraction. What ever
the reason, it created the opportunity for both cultures to merge
their individual beliefs together. This was the case with my
families history. After 200 years, those early compromises of
spiritual rituals, meanings and practices have grown into their
own set of beliefs, and traditions that have expanded and evolved
into to incorporate the beliefs of the old world, and knowledge
of the modern world.